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Courteney Cox shared a heartwarming tribute to late Friends director James Burrows following his death at age 85.
“I will miss you so much Jimmy… the joy and laughter you brought to everyone who knew you. How much you cared… but I know your light will always be shining on us,” Cox, 62, wrote via Instagram on Saturday, June 20.
In her memorial post, Cox shared a humorous memory of Burrows, who directed 15 episodes of Friends, including the 1994 pilot, “The One Where It All Began.”
“Jimmy B called me Cox-N-Hammer,” she revealed. “I have no idea why or what it means, but I just went with it ‘cause he was Jimmy Burrows.”
The Monica Geller actress recalled that Burrows was a crucial influence on the Friends cast early in the show’s run, often dispensing advice and preparing them for superstardom.
“He always referred to us as ‘the kids’… he took the cast under his wing and taught us everything we needed to know — whether through his direction, or telling us how things in our lives were gonna unfold — never sugar-coating anything and he was always right,” she wrote on Saturday. “I would beg him to make more time to direct us, but so did all of his other shows, because everything was better when he was around. You felt safe and confident and man, what a blast we had!”
Cox also touched on her relationship with Burrows away from the Friends set, explaining that she relished watching his courtship with second wife Debbie Easton before their 1997 wedding. (Burrows shared three daughters with his first wife, Linda Solomon, as well as a stepdaughter with Easton.)
“I’m not sure how someone with that much talent, wisdom, and adoration could be so egoless,” she added. “Making anything the best it could be was all that mattered to Jimmy… well, that and his wonderful kids and his beautiful wife, Debbie. I so loved watching them fall in love.”
Burrows’ family announced on Friday, June 19, that the 11-time Emmy winner died at age 85 following a short illness.
“Burrows understood that great comedy was never simply about laughter. It was about humanity, connection and truth,” his family statement read. “His influence will continue to be felt for generations through the countless artists he inspired, the stories he helped tell and the millions of people whose lives were brightened by his work. … He will be profoundly missed and forever remembered.”
Burrows directed for many of television’s most famous sitcoms, including Will & Grace, Frasier, The Bob Newhart Show and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. He cocreated Cheers with Glen and Les Charles in 1982.
The director was inducted into the TV Hall of Fame in 2006 and received his own NBC career tribute in 2016, which featured a rare reunion with the cast of Friends.
Following Burrows’ death, Cox’s Friends costar Jennifer Aniston remembered the TV director as a “father figure” early in her career.
“His own incredible children were generous enough to share him with all of us who were lucky enough to experience his unicorn presence,” Aniston wrote via Instagram on Saturday. “He was a father figure to me. He always checked in on me. He worried about me, celebrated me, taught me, guided me and held me through the hardest times and the best of times. He spoiled us rotten.”
She went on, “Most of all, he taught us — the kids — how important it is to love and respect one another. To take care of each other. To have each other’s backs and support each other, no matter what. And we did just that.”
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